2013 has been the year of community. I have watched Live Well grow and coalesce as more than ‘just a yoga studio.’ We come together for camaraderie, joy, laughter, and for tears, frustration and grief. We are building and growing traditions together: from Tuesday Tea and 2nd Thursday dinners to retreats and teacher training. Our lives and our stories yoke us together into to community. The word yoke evolved from the Sanskrit word yuj, which is also the root of the word Yoga. Our community is a direct manifestation of our yoga.

My dream is that Live Well offers yoga to everyone, regardless of financial circumstances. Yoga has been such a powerful tool of transformation in my life. It has helped me to recover from ptsd, disordered eating, a severe back injury, and many small and various mental, spiritual and physical ills. I believe many of those who could most benefit from yoga are also the least able to afford yoga. So, I am very excited that we will be starting a Yoga Scholarship program in 2014. The first priority for our scholarships will be to help those with joint medical and financial needs who would benefit from private yoga instruction. Once those needs are met, we will expand the program to help clients whose financial circumstances exclude them from participating in yoga. All proceeds from the first class in Angie’s new series “Rhythm of Shakti” will be a fundraiser for the scholarship program. Look for more details soon.

In 2014 we will also expand our suite of community yoga classes to include a Monday Meditation class, from 9-9:40am. Lisa will guide this practice with teaching on meditation technique and yogic philosophy followed by silent meditation. Teen Tribal Fusion with Antigone will return on Tuesday afternoons, 4-5pm. Community classes are offered free, by donation or at a minimal fee, and no one is turned away for lack of funds. Our community classes include $5 Community Yoga, Free Teen Yoga, Chair Yoga, and Adaptive YoPi. If you know someone who would like to attend yoga but is unable due to financial circumstances, please have them talk to Lisa and I will try to direct them to the class best suited to their needs.

We are blessed by your presence in our lives and your participation in our community. May our community continue to blossom and grow in 2014.

It has been an interesting winter so far. We’re not used to such a long cold dry spells. Skin gets irritated, minds get irritated, tempers get irritated. Ayurveda can offer us a number of remedies to calm the irritation and slow us down to enjoy what winter has to offer us. Here are some simple suggestions to keep you calm and centered through this dark cold time of year.

For Your Mind:

Warming Winter Tea (with thanks to Matthew Remski for the recipe)

Warm about ½ cup of almond milk (see recipe below or use commercially available almond milks) and ½ cup water on the stovetop

Add

chamomile tea (1 bag or equivalent loose),

cinnamon (1/4 t.) ,

nutmeg (good pinch) or mace (good pinch),

a few cloves,

poppy seed (1/2 t.)

Simmer for 15 minutes

Drink at your leisure

Almond Milk

This is quite easy to make, tastes better than the store bought brands, and does not have artificial thickeners, stabilizers or preservatives. It does separate, so shake well before pouring.

Soak over night

1 cup of almonds in 2 cups of water

4 dates in ½ cup of water

Drain almonds and rinse well

Place almonds, 2 cups water, dates and date soaking water in blender.

Blend until smooth and as fine-grained as your blender will achieve.

Strain milk from nut meal. A nut milk bag is the most efficient way to do this, but if you don’t have one a fine sieve will do.

Keep nut milk in a glass jar in refrigerator for up to a week. Use as you would regular milk, in drinks, on cereal, or for cooking.

Use nut meal in recipes in place of flour. Freeze or dry for later use.

For your spirit:

Winter Morning Practice (thanks Madlyne Moeller for the reminder)

When you wake up take a few moments in bed to be grateful. Grateful that you are in a warm place. Grateful for your loved ones. Grateful for water and power and a good roof. Add anything to this list that comes to mind. Think freely of all the gifts in your life.

Sit on the side of the bed and stretch before you put weight on your feet.

Drink a cup of hot water with lemon juice. Sit quietly for a few minutes before you begin your day. Have breakfast in silence or in pleasant conversation with family. Don’t turn on your electronic devices until after this is complete.

Winter Evening Practice

Turn off all screens and electronic devices at least 2 hours before you go to sleep. Enjoy the company of family, read, knit, play games, make things, sing…

For your skin:

Winter Oil Massage

The cold dry weather really irritates your skin. Your skin is the largest organ in your body. It modulates your relationship with the world around you. When the skin is irritated, everything is irritated. Oil massage, Abhyanga, is the ayurvedic remedy for this irritation. It is a wonderful gift you can give yourself.

For a winter massage you’ll want a warming oil with warming scents. My own line of oils is available at at Live Well if you’d like to purchase one and it is very easy to mix your own. Of my blends vata oil is a good choice for winter. And, I suggest that you smell them all and choose your favorite. To mix your own winter massage oil use organic cosmetic-grade sesame or almond oil as the base. Add a little castor oil if you have it. Then use your favorite essential oils to scent your massage oil. For winter warmth you might try cardamom, rosemary, rose, lemon, cedar, chamomile or sage. And if you prefer your oil unscented, leave the essential oils out.

In the cold of winter start your massage practice with a nice warm shower. Use very little soap as soap irritates and dries the skin. Allafia Everyday Shea liquid soaps are soothing to the skin and you only need to use a little bit on the parts of you that really need it. Once your skin is warm and soft with the shower water, use your massage oil to massage your skin. It’ll take about 2 tablespoons of oil to massage your entire body. Next let the warm shower water run over you for a few minutes. The warm water will allow your skin to absorb all the oil it can and wash away excess. Beware that if you put too much oil on your skin your clothing will absorb the excess and you will eventually ruin your clothes.

Lightly pat your skin to dry yourself after your shower.

For your Sinuses: After showering you can use Nasya Oil (available at Live Well) in your sinuses to keep the sinuses soft and clear. Put a few drops of Nasya oil on the back on one hand, then use the pinky finger of your other hand to massage it into the lower nostrils. Sniff lightly to draw the oil into the outer parts of the sinuses. You do not want to get the oil into the deepest sinuses or your lungs, so don’t use too much oil or snort too deeply. If you are a regular user of a neti pot, Nasya after neti will keep your sinuses from becoming overly dry.